Why Did the British Empire Break Up?

It is possible to list at least four basic forces which brought about the dissolution of the British Empire. First, both Britain and her colonies recognized that some kind of self-government was necessary in territories which were separated by thousands of miles from Britain. Administration centered in London was increasingly difficult and expensive.

Secondly, the colonies themselves began to chafe against British rule and to demand to manage their own affairs. A note of aggressive nationalism entered into the appeals for self-government. In the third place, individual British colonies and other nations began to forge economic, social and political links. Two world wars also greatly reduced Britain’s power in the world and made some colonies look elsewhere for leadership.

Finally, many Britons themselves realized that the Empire had become unwieldy and that relationships within it were a handicap rather than a gain. Nevertheless, there was not a complete break up but the growth of an association of independent nations called the Commonwealth. There were three bonds which united the association.

The close economic relationship of trade, labor and capital; the acceptance of many commonwealth countries of British social, economic, educational, political, military and legal institutions and customs; and the savings that could be made in the member countries by acceptance of British military and diplomatic services.

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It originated with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries.

At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913 the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23% of the world population at the time, and by 1920 it covered 35,500,000 km2 (13,700,000 sq mi), 24% of the Earth’s total land area.

As a result, its political, legal, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, the phrase “the empire on which the sun never sets” was often used to describe the British Empire, because its expanse around the globe meant that the sun was always shining on at least one of its territories.

During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires generated, England, France, and the Netherlands began to establish colonies and trade networks of their own in the Americas and Asia.

A series of wars in the 17th and 18th centuries with the Netherlands and France left England and then, following union between England and Scotland in 1707, Great Britain, the dominant colonial power in North America and India.

The independence of the Thirteen Colonies in North America in 1783 after the American War of Independence caused Britain to lose some of its oldest and most populous colonies. British attention soon turned towards Asia, Africa, and the Pacific.

After the defeat of France in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1792–1815), Britain emerged as the principal naval and imperial power of the 19th century. Unchallenged at sea, British dominance was later described as Pax Britannica (“British Peace”), a period of relative peace in Europe and the world (1815–1914) during which the British Empire became the global hegemon and adopted the role of global policeman.

In the early 19th century, the Industrial Revolution began to transform Britain; by the time of the Great Exhibition in 1851 the country was described as the “workshop of the world”. The British Empire expanded to include India, large parts of Africa and many other territories throughout the world. Alongside the formal control it exerted over its own colonies, British dominance of much of world trade meant that it effectively controlled the economies of many regions, such as Asia and Latin America.

Domestically, political attitudes favored free trade and laissez-faire policies and a gradual widening of the voting franchise. During this century, the population increased at a dramatic rate, accompanied by rapid urbanization, causing significant social and economic stresses. To seek new markets and sources of raw materials, the Conservative Party under Benjamin Disraeli launched a period of imperialist expansion in Egypt, South Africa, and elsewhere. Canada, Australia, and New Zealand became self-governing dominions.

By the start of the 20th century, Germany and the United States had begun to challenge Britain’s economic lead. Subsequent military and economic tensions between Britain and Germany were major causes of the First World War, during which Britain relied heavily upon its empire. The conflict placed enormous strain on the military, financial and manpower resources of Britain. Although the British Empire achieved its largest territorial extent immediately after World War I, Britain was no longer the world’s pre-eminent industrial or military power.

In the Second World War, Britain’s colonies in Southeast Asia were occupied by Imperial Japan. Despite the final victory of Britain and its allies, the damage to British prestige helped to accelerate the decline of the empire. India, Britain’s most valuable and populous possession, achieved independence as part of a larger decolonization movement in which Britain granted independence to most territories of the empire. The transfer of Hong Kong to China in 1997 marked for many the end of the British Empire.

Fourteen overseas territories remain under British sovereignty. After independence, many former British colonies joined the Commonwealth of Nations, a free association of independent states. The United Kingdom is now one of 16 Commonwealth nations, a grouping known informally as the Commonwealth realms, which share a monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.

Content for this question contributed by Jill Boyer, resident of Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California, USA